Power restored to Banning Pass area

Thousands of people in the Banning Pass have their power back after losing it for nearly 3 hours Tuesday.

SCE says that just after noon a widespread power outage affected customers from Beaumont to Cabazon. A total of 17,400 customers were affected at one time, from Beaumont to Whitewater. All of the customers were restored just before 3:00 p.m.

Several workers from the Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Cabazon told us they had to shut down their stores when the power outage hit. Many were shut down for over an hour while crews restored power. Elizabeth Perkovich, Assistant General Manager from the Desert Hills Premium Outlets said all stores are open now, and that the power was restored at 1:48 p.m.

The cause of the outage could be related to a fire in the area of Interstate Ten and Beaumont Avenue. Cal fire says that fire began just after noon on the side of the freeway in an area filled with eucalyptus and pine trees. Parts of I-10 were shut down for several hours while fire crews put out the flames. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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